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Elliotte Friedman Admits Surprise Over Panthers' Move for Star Free Agents

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 8:52 AM ET

The Florida Panthers didn’t wait long to silence any doubts about their ability to keep their Cup-winning core intact.

After capturing their second straight Stanley Cup, they re-signed all three of their biggest pending free agents — Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand — in a flurry of financial deals.

Bennett, fresh off an MVP postseason, signed an eight-year, $64 million deal. . Marchand followed by agreeing to a six-year, $31.5 million deal. Finally, Ekblad completed the trio of extensions with an eight-year contract worth $6.1 million annually and $48.8 million overall.

All three were considered top-tier UFAs and potential targets for big-market suitors expecting at least one or two of them to reach free agency. That never happened.

A wild #NHLFreeAgency eve and @FriedgeHNIC is here to break it all down.@JamisonCoyle | @Rupper17 | @asgrimson pic.twitter.com/pap6pEyRzu
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) June 30, 2025

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman didn’t hide his reaction while making an appearance on NHL Network one day before the start of free agency.

"I’m kind of surprised that all three got done," Friedman said. "I’m not surprised they wanted to do it. Some teams are like, 'We’re not going to be able to do it.' The Panthers wanted to do it."

Friedman shared his thoughts on the deals, saying that he viewed Bennett as the “closest no-doubter” to return. Marchand, Friedman revealed, "really wanted to stay" and would work something out, as he ended up doing.

Meanwhile, regarding Ekblad, Friedman acknowledged he was “the toughest one” for Florida to re-sign as the blueliner "would have (had) big contract offers on the open market."

Ultimately, Friedman credited the Panthers' mindset and cohesion, as well as Florida general manager Bill Zito for keeping the core together and in steady contention for titles.

"One of the things I really noticed on the ice, even though they were so thrilled and happy, was how many of them on the ice talked about, 'We’re not done,' or 'We’d like to go for three,'" Friedman said. "That’s a really hard thing to do. Two is hard. One’s hard. Two is incredible.

"They want to go for three."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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